The manner in which Turkish President Erdogan chose to handle the latest developments in Turkey which made the well known conflict between the “ two Worlds” ( The Secular state v. The Islamic) surface again, have , as it is natural, raised concerns regarding these “new” approaches and their consequences in future Turkish public and, to a certain extent, private life .
Since 2002, Gülen-affiliated foundations have quietly built up the largest charter-school network in America, with over 130 schoolsin 26 different states nationwide. This rapid buildup is troubling, however, since financial records suggest the cleric’s charter-school network has routinely funneled public-education dollars to its own members, often with unclear benefit to students.
The recent coup attempt in Turkey came as a complete surprise to most observers. But a decade ago, the only surprise would have been the fact that it didn’t succeed. After all, in the last 60 years Turkey has had four coups led by a military famously committed to secularism. When the Islamist Justice and Development Party, or AKP, was elected in 2002, another coup seemed all too likely.
By Dimitris Konstantakopoulos
Stop discussing about the roots of terrorism, stop debating our policies in the Middle East (and all the Third World, but those...